For All THEY Know
by SoundlessSong
Summary: Hiccup didn't win Dragon Training.  Now he has to help 'kill' dragons on raids, deal with his father's misplaced pride, and keep everyone from discovering his winged, fire-breathing friend... oh, and act happy about the whole thing.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD, never have, and most likely never will. Not that I think anyone would believe otherwise.

I edited this chapter's dialog a little to make it more movie-true... thank you, httydluver13!

Hiccup sighed, a shaky sound filled with relief. "I lost dragon training today," he informed Toothless, with relief he most certainly wouldn't have felt before meeting the black dragon. "Astrid will be the one to... show off in front of everyone. My dad's still proud of me... I'm not sure what to think about that," he mumbled the last part, rubbing Toothless behind the ears. Toothless purred and nudged him, eyes huge and interested.

_The crowd roared as the Gronkle was released from its cage, buzzing about the arena with heavy, ponderous purpose. Hiccup and Astrid crouched behind one of the wooden things stationed around, listening to the sound of its tiny rapidfire wings; it hadn't seen them yet. Astrid shoved his shield down out of her way, shoving her face in his and hissing angrily under her breath, "Stay out of my way. I'm winning this thing." _

"_Good! Please! By all means!" he called after her, as she rolled away to another wooden sight-barrier. He stood carefully, peeking around the wood at the dragon, trying to keep out of its sight. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Astrid readied herself to spring. _

_The dragon spotted him and turned toward him; hoping now to get the grass or scratches he normally gave it. He ducked and rolled, to another barrier, glancing briefly up at his father; his roll had incidentally put the Gronkle in between Astrid and himself, leaving her wide open to take the dragon down. _

_He ran forward as Astrid did the same, trying to make it look like he had some slight intention to actually harm the dragon, and managed to time his leap so Astrid got there first. With a sharp blow of her axe, she sent the dragon staggering, falling out of the air with a heavy thump. It reeled, shaking its toothy head, wings beginning to buzz once more... until the axe hit it again. The blades were blunted; the dragon wasn't seriously hurt, but it was knocked back enough to be pronounced defeated. The crowd around the ring went wild, and Hiccup did his level best to pretend to be disappointed, while inside he was all but cartwheeling in relieved victory. He wouldn't have to kill a dragon! _

_The elder took a very long time to decide; she seemed almost disappointed when she pronounced Astrid the one who would go on to kill the dragon. That seemed odd; Astrid was simply the better fighter, right? Well, Astrid was chosen anyhow... the Elder had done her part._

_As Astrid was lifted onto Fishlegs' shoulder, carried around triumphantly, Hiccup stood back a little, smiling despite himself. As they left the arena, his father stumped up behind him. "Great job, Hiccup! Don't worry about not winning, you'll get plenty of chances to kill a dragon." He clapped one meaty hand on Hiccup's shoulder, and only long familiarity kept the boy from pitching face-first into the ground._

That had been earlier. He had slipped away as soon as he felt he could, while the party congratulating Astrid was still in full swing. Celebrating sounded good right now, but not for the reasons everyone else would accept...

He sat quietly beside Toothless, empty basket of fish turned on its side nearby, rubbing the dragon's neck absently. Toothless flared his nostrils at the remaining fishy scent, and lay his head on his front paws, clearly ready to take a nap. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting shadows over dew-dampened grass and reflecting off the lake as shattered beams of diamond-light. He would have to return home soon, or risk a search party being sent out by his dad and his new-found pride...


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD.

To all reviewers: Thank you so much!

The sun was high in the sky, sweeping its rays across the little valley and playing with little shadows here and there. Hiccup dozed in Toothless's shadow, having forgotten all about his dad and Astrid and her privilege to kill a dragon before them all; it wasn't until a shout rang out through the woods beyond the clearing that he was jolted rather unpleasantly to full awareness. The voice was approaching rapidly; Toothless raised his head to watch in slight amusement as Hiccup raced pell-mell for the exit, slipping out and into the trees beyond, trying to make it look like he hadn't been anywhere near that part of the forest. It was a good thing he was small – he was able to avoid making all the noise that the person in the woods was making.

Speak of the devil... the voice roared out again. "HICCUP!" It sounded rather upset.

_Oh no, what'd I do,_ Hiccup thought reflexively, stopping his movement. "...Snotlout?"

Crunching and crashing noises commenced as the other boy proceeded to bulldoze his way through the underbrush in the direction of Hiccup's voice. "Hiccup! Where've you been? Your dad sent me out to look for you," Snotlout told him, a bit resentfully. "They weren't gonna wait for either one of us! Astrid's going to kill the Nightmare, come on!" He grabbed Hiccup by one arm and tugged him away, dragging him through the woods toward their village.

With relief, Hiccup realized that Snotlout was sidetracked enough by the events in the village, not to think about asking why he'd been in the middle of the forest. Once they reached the village, the larger boy let go of Hiccup's arm and trotted off to the arena. Hiccup rubbed his arm and stood still. _Kill a dragon... Astrid's killing a dragon._

He hadn't really thought about it before, being entirely focused on avoiding the 'privilege' himself; but Astrid would kill the Nightmare... and there was nothing he could do. Shame washed over him; shame, guilt, and and an edge of helplessness. There was no way he could go and watch the willful murder of the Monstrous Nightmare without trying to set it free... and that would not go over well, or have any chance of succeeding.

So... he'd wait here, and when they asked where he'd been, he'd say he was just disappointed that he hadn't gotten the 'privilege' and had been sulking in a corner. _Heh._ He couldn't help but laugh a little at the thought, but amusement quickly faded as he realized that Astrid would most certainly want to put on a good show for her watchers, never mind the pain it might cause the Nightmare.

In some ways, he felt disillusioned about the Viking girl; she had no mercy for dragons or himself, and he was absolutely certain she wouldn't waste any time quibbling about right or wrong if Toothless was before her. In other ways though, she still made his knees go weak whenever her cerulean gaze swept over him. She was beautiful, strong, stubborn, the perfect Viking... everything he'd once wanted to be, and everything that he could never really be, no matter what the facade he put on for the village.

He waited in Gobber's shop, cleaning up all his designs and drawings of Toothless as something to do in the meantime, stashing them away in a box behind the desk. All trace of Toothless's existence was removed from obvious sight in the room. With his newfound popularity, also came people barging in at unexpected times; the last thing he needed was for someone to see a drawing of Toothless and wonder where he'd gotten the idea. He was sure his popularity would fade, and things would return to normal, after dragon-training was over and they forgot about his ability with dragons; no point in tempting fate, though.

A muted roar from the direction of the arena caught his attention; that one was louder than the others. Maybe Astrid was finally done with her game. His stomach twisted, and he ran for home, glancing toward the arena. People were coming out, jubilant shouts and chuckles ringing out loudly, carrying Astrid on their shoulders... her and her bloody axe. The crowd turned as one to the town hall, intent on drinking itself into a stupor by morning in celebration. Hiccup stood back and let them pass, suddenly feeling very tired.

A huge figure detached itself from the crowd, heading over to Hiccup. It was Stoick. "Hey, Hiccup." He clapped his hand on Hiccup's shoulder again, making him stumble. "You didn't have to wait out here, you know."

"Ah, hah, I... I was just... disappointed 'cause I lost, so I stayed... sat over here and thought... lost track of time," Hiccup stumbled over his words, attempting to make them sound believable. He wasn't a very good straight-up liar.

Good thing Vikings weren't particularly good at picking up on things like that. Stoick chuckled, a rumbling sound that might have been mistaken for thunder if it was cloudy out. "Ah, don't worry. You'll get your chance." He didn't even notice Hiccup's tone of voice; as usual.

Stoick's words sunk in, and a sudden sinking sensation made itself known in his stomach. "...What? Gobber doesn't have any more dragon training assignments... does he?"

"Of course not!" Stoick laughed again. "But when the next dragon raid comes around... you won't be all cooped up inside like before, boy! Show us what you can do then!" He shook Hiccup's shoulder, a wide, almost childlike grin on his face, and turned away for the town hall. As chief, he was required by common courtesy to attend.

Hiccup remained behind, staring after his dad. _I really didn't think this through, did I? _So much for believing things would return to relative normalcy after the dragon-training was over...


	3. Chapter 3

Oops, forgot my disclaimer. I don't own HTTYD!

When the sun had fallen below the horizon, staining the seas and horizons around Berk with bloody red, Hiccup became aware that someone was walking towards him, clearly intending to speak. He bit back a groan; he did _not _want to talk to a Viking right now.

He'd been sitting in front of his house, struggling to come up with a way to escape having to join in the raids; his usually unfailing imagination was being terrifyingly uncooperative. _I don't want to just screw something up real bad... even if it's fake... Dad isn't disappointed, for once. _But did he have a choice? He could... _would _not kill dragons!

Meanwhile, Astrid was marching up the hill to his house, in a much better mood than she had been during their final exam. Now that she'd won, and the party celebrating it was almost over, she was determined to congratulate him for doing so well the rest of the time; it _was _a first after all, the kid had a right to be proud...

She halted a few feet away, studying his face. He wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, a furrow in his brow and clear forest-green eyes intent on something no one else could see. Something seemed to be troubling him; with some smugness, she realized that it must be that he'd lost the last exam. He was disappointed and frustrated that she could fight better, after all he'd done in the earlier lessons!

Feeling a little better about her own envy all through dragon training, she smirked a little and strode up to the boy, shaking his shoulder. "Hiccup."

She watched as he recoiled, eyes snapping to her, dismay written all over his face. He definitely wasn't happy to see her. For some reason, it disappointed her, and she punched his shoulder a little harder than she'd intended. He winced, rubbing his shoulder, and the dismayed expression turned to a half-hearted glare. He was really out of it, wasn't he? She shook her head. "Hey. You did good in dragon training." No point in fanfare, just get it out clearly.

"You did better," he replied quietly. A pause. "You're... the better Viking." The last words seemed to have some kind of deeper meaning, the kind that settled through your bones and made you shiver with their import.

"Don't talk like that. You might've lost dragon training, but you still have talent. Your dad's still proud, and you'll finally be allowed outside during raids... your greatest wish, right?" she reminded him, propping her axe over her shoulder.

"Greatest wish...? Oh! Yeah, okay, yeah, greatest wish, that's great, I'd love to fight dragons," he rushed suddenly.

Astrid frowned. The words sounded forced, as though he were trying to convince himself, or mislead her. "You... _do..._ want to help when the raids come around, right?" She tilted her head, studying him suspiciously.

He cringed. "Yeah, of course, why wouldn't I want to help? Make dad proud, help protect the village, keep our winter supplies, make dragons go extinct?" The last part wasn't added intentionally; he had to stop himself from adding far more incriminating comments to the end.

Astrid shook her head in wonderment. "Why do you have this dreading look on your face then?" No answer, and she sighed. She'd only come over to settle the score, assure him that although SHE had won (and he'd better not forget it), he still did decent enough... "Why am I even standing here talking to you? I said what I intended to..." she mumbled, half to herself. No need to analyze his words. He was probably just shaken, or ashamed about losing dragon training in front of his dad, and it was making him hesitant to go kill dragons in front of his dad for fear she'd outstrip him again. Perfectly understandable. She turned, striding away, balancing her newly cleaned axe in her hand reflexively.

Hiccup stared after her, stunned. Astrid had actually spoken to him, without being forced. She'd come over, the sunset shining behind her, creating a glorious halo around her slender body... then she'd punched him, breaking the spell rather unpleasantly. Her words then had been smug, but clearly well-meant... oh, how little she knew...

He'd have to figure out how to stop his avalanche of words whenever he tried to lie... it was a dead giveaway, and Astrid wasn't as thick-headed as his dad.

Still... that's how he'd have to behave. Act as though his greatest wish had come true... and when raids came around, perhaps he could just go on the same way he had been, not killing anything but just scratching their necks and rubbing grass on their noses. Heh, maybe they'd decide he was nice enough to warrant leaving the village alone... not likely, but fun to think about. He'd have to find a way to explain why he never managed to have a body to show for his 'dragon-slaying' efforts... and just how would he do that?

He waited, impatiently, as the sunset faded. Now that his dad was back, he couldn't just disappear for the evening, especially with today's party; his dad would wonder. In fact, he'd have to be far more careful about disappearing in general. So... if he would only hurry up and get back here, go to sleep, so that Hiccup could run back to Toothless...

He took to pacing as the sky darkened, torches being lit all around the village. People were leaving the party now, drunk and swaying on their feet; he saw Astrid returning to her home with her family, the center of their group, everyone's arms over her shoulders, still being congratulated.

The sky was completely dark before Stoick exited the Town Hall, weaving just slightly and speaking louder than usual in an attempt to compensate. He trudged carefully up the hill, eyes on the ground, making sure he wouldn't trip and fall in front of the entire village. Finally!

Eventually, the huge man reached the top; with a wave and a grin to Hiccup, he fell through the door and started making a mess with the fire, singing to himself as Hiccup closed the door and slumped in the corner. Standing up again, Stoick turned to Hiccup and punched his shoulder, the same one that Astrid had hit. It was popular today... his thoughts were broken as Stoick spoke.

"Hey, Hiccup! Best ta' go and get sm'sleep," he boomed, turning away and rumbling towards the stairs. "Wanna be ready for any raids... can't fight if you haven't slept..." The voice faded away upstairs, and within five minutes had given away to thunderous snores.

With a sigh of relief, Hiccup turned the doorknob at the back door, picked up the basket of fish he'd had stashed just outside, and slipped away, racing through the well-known forest terrain to the little cove. Sliding down the rocks at the entrance, he turned his head, looking for Toothless; this proved to be fruitless as the dragon sprang on him from above, roaring a delighted welcome. The Night Fury had been well aware that something had been afoot in the Viking village; Hiccup talked a lot, and some of the sounds carried over the trees. He'd been worried about Hiccup, and how depressed the boy had been getting.

Toothless head-butted him, eyes huge and worried, staring into his soul. Hiccup smiled, the cares of the day pushed to the back of his head. He had a friend; a real friend. He could handle anything!

But first, feed his best friend. He tipped the basket over, pouring a selection of Toothless' favorites over the ground. With a happy growl, the dragon curled around the fish and began cheerfully gulping them down, while Hiccup put the saddle and harness on him. Time to fly!


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for late update... I forgot about the story ^^'

* * *

The wind was cool against his face, blowing all his worries away for the moment. Toothless rumbled happily underneath him, flicking his wings gently, flight steady and effortless. The endless expanses of sky before them were awe-inspiring; the last vestiges of sunset reflected off the horizon as the skies gave way to deep blues and twinkling stars.

Toothless turned lazily, flapping his wings once, and Hiccup automatically adjusted the tail fin to allow it. Rapidly, the black dragon took them back to Berk, setting himself to circle the village gently, high in the sky; Hiccup shivered, not really from cold, and gazed sadly down at the cluster of houses he called home. No way to get away from thinking about it, now... He missed the half-amused, rather worried glance Toothless threw him, as he contemplated.

If he were to join the raids, he'd need something to show for it, certainly. Perhaps he could just pretend he'd suddenly fallen sick?

It might work the _first _time... maybe...

Or he'd just run around the edges of the village and say none had come down close enough for him to reach, everyone else'd gotten them first... Yeah, might work till Astrid heard him.

Perhaps he could...

_Whoosh._

_Whoosh._

_Whoosh._

In no time flat, Toothless had started flapping quickly, away into the fog. Hiccup hadn't noticed, but they had drifted away from Berk, into a lonelier place on the island rampant with rock formations and mist. Apparently... a whole bunch of other dragons had decided to fly through here at the same time as he and Toothless.

Hiccup flattened himself to Toothless' neck, glad that he was so small. Toothless attempted to fly out of the mist sideways, but a Nightmare shouldered in beside him, and suddenly they were surrounded. Their flight evened out, tense and swift; much larger rock formations approached... then a dizzying twirl as Toothless spun in, out and around the rock formations, flying inexorably toward the reddish glow seen through the heavy fog.

One last dive that left his stomach somewhere far behind... and...

Dragons. Dragons everywhere, in this huge volcanic cavern. _The dragons' den!_ Hiccup realized, in shock. _What my dad would give to see this... _He shielded his eyes from the abrupt blast of heated air, so different from the cold fog, and peered between his fingers at the interior of the cavern.

Toothless flew up, situating himself behind an outcropping, peering around it down at the huge pit. He seemed tense, worried, terrified. Hiccup put a hand on his neck, worried. "Toothless?" he asked, in the merest thread of a whisper. "What..."

He trailed off as the first shark and sheep disappeared down the great red-tinted pit. The dragons were dumping the food down the pit? That didn't make any sense at all. Were they stockpiling it? Then why... _why are they ALL as tense as Toothless?_ Hiccup realized uneasily, gazing at the pit, a sense of foreboding raising the hairs at the back of his neck.

A small Gronkle buzzed toward the center. Hiccup's bad feeling intensified exponentially, but he kept watching, fascinated. It dropped a single, small fish down the pit, hovering and scratching its ear lazily... funny, it seemed to be the only dragon here without worries...

An enormous, irritated growl caused every dragon in the cavern to huddle down in terror, and Hiccup to very nearly jump out of his skin. Even the little Gronkle started, and began to buzz upward...

CHOMP.

What... was... that...? It appeared as though an enormous rock outcropping had erupted from the pit below, shutting around the little Gronkle... and was now sinking back into the pit slowly...?

Eyes... nostrils... _enormous teeth... _That was a _dragon?_

A dragon that might have been mistaken for a mountain if it held still... had eaten a Gronkle... and was now looking at them, with a hungry, irritable expression in its monstrous eyes. Hiccup leaned forward quickly, adrenalin overtaking him. "Toothless? You've gotta get us outta here, bud... that thing looks hungry..."

Toothless sprang, speeding upwards at his top speed... and the monster pounced, jaws snapping shut emptily where they had been just an instant before. At the same time, all the smaller dragons in the... nest took flight, spiraling upward through the mouth of the volcano, flying for their lives in a cacophony of terrified shrieks and calls.

In the midst of it all, Hiccup and Toothless were totally unnoticed as they sped back to Berk at top speed, terrified, not daring to think. Only when they'd landed with a _thump_ back in the cove did Hiccup allow his thoughts to return, and he shuddered and went cold at the memory. "Toothless... that thing ate a Gronkle... they weren't even eating the food they raided..." He paused, realization taking him over. "_They aren't raiding us because they want to. _It's because that... thing... will eat them if they don't feed it, isn't it?" He stared at Toothless, eyes wide and frightened.

Toothless crooned soothingly, extending a wing to cover the frightened boy, curling around him. Hiccup leaned against the black dragon's side, somehow immeasurably relieved that it _wasn't _by choice that the dragons raided Berk; even though their reason wasn't an especially welcome one anyway. "How do we make that monster leave?" he murmured, already half asleep. Thoughts of future raids had flown out of his mind like moths, and he fell asleep dreaming of the enormous monster in its deadly volcanic tomb.

So, Hiccup and Toothless get to meet the Queen after all, just a day late. Only problem is, he's not going to be telling his dad about it... which means no ill-fated expedition to the nest, no heroic blast-fest at the monstrous Queen... so what's a boy and his dragon to do, all alone, with literally no friends in the world?

Hmmm...


End file.
